Skip to main content

Are You Rich?


Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (I Timothy 6:17-19) 

          Are you rich in this world? If you live in North America, even if you’re on welfare or disability, you’re probably have more money than most people in the world. Of course, the cost of living is part of the equation. I don’t think of myself as being rich, partly because as I see it, what I have must last me the rest of my life. But when I think about being rich, I don’t just think of money and property. I also think about talents, abilities, skills, health, intelligence, education, strength, common sense, love, etc. Anything you have that you realize someone else doesn’t, that’s an area in which you are rich. Paul tells Timothy to warn people not to put their hope in their wealth. Their hope needs to be in God because God is the One who has provided these things to us for our enjoyment. 
          Let me repeat those last words…for our enjoyment. We shouldn’t be arrogant about the blessings we’ve received, but we shouldn’t feel guilty either.  God gave them to us for our enjoyment. Have you ever heard of a helper’s high? Scientists have found that when we help someone, our bodies release endorphins. Biologically, doing good, being rich in good deeds, being generous and willing to share can make you feel good.
          As I said earlier, I don’t think of myself as being monetarily rich. I do, however, have a brain that does a pretty good job at some forms of analysis, that retains information with a fair chance of recall, etc. I have a body that needs work, but it’s in fair condition. I have some talents, skills, and experiences. The neat thing about many of those is that using them to do good deeds doesn’t diminish my supply. Giving you information doesn’t mean that I don’t have it any more. 
         There are some people who think I ought to keep my mouth shut because they don’t like the information I share. The problem is that as far as I’m concerned, information is my greatest source of wealth. If I don’t share it, I am not loving the person from whom I withhold it. They may judge what I say to be nothing more than my opinion, and it might be just that – but I’m trying to be generous and willing to share my greatest treasure. Someone may think it fit only for a landfill, but they must be far richer than I, because what’s in my head is (to me) my greatest treasure. To not enjoy it or share it would require that I be hateful, arrogant and selfish.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more